gigamatic

Over two weeks ago, I called TW to get my cable bill straightened out. I have auto-bill-pay, with them, and they had billed me double for a month of service, at the very least. They had also neglected to credit the account for days without service. And had not removed services that I had requested to have removed.

TW's rep couldn't fix the issue and needed her supervisor's help. She told me to rest assured they would get it taken care of, and that she would have someone call me the following Tuesday (the day after Veterans Day). Well, nobody called.

Duh. This is TW, of course.

So, I should have another bill waiting at home. They've screwed it up again, I can feel it.

My bill went down when we moved, and down again when they lopped off the movie channels. I should have a near-zero bill this month.

Posted by gigamatt at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

do people seriously just blindly pay their cell phone bills while the companies consistently overcharge?

i found an overcharge of $23.28 on my spr!nt bill again this month. wtf. and then i had to fight with overseas customer support again to explain what was wrong.

after 25 minutes on the phone, it's finally taken care of.

but i still dont have a reliable signal.

so after another 10 minutes on the phone, I still don't have that taken care of. billing couldnt transfer me to tech support, or let me talk to her boss. or give me her id# so that I could reference the call later.

"you'll have to call back, sir."
"and wait another 20 minutes on hold?"
"yes sir, or you can take your phone to a spr!nt store"
"and wait 6 hours. or days. depending on whether they have a tech on site."

Posted by gigamatt at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

no. no more leftovers.

i do have a couple cups of leftover cranberry sauce, which i'm trying to avoid, and a red velvet cake roll that has to be eaten soon. but, all of the other thanksgiving leftovers are gone.

i made a batch of chili last night, which i'll probably skip tonight, in favor of chicken burritos. i might throw some chili on the burrito, sure, along with some extra cactus and some salsa. i've got to eat the chicken tonight, and then chili tomorrow.

it's been a wild, weird month, and boy am i glad it's over. i'm still wondering if we'll get the new bed before the company arrives on the 8th (i'm betting not, but i'm also not sure what was promised to the folks who are coming from out of town for the pirogi day.)

i'm going to start re-arranging the basement tonight and try to get some more boxes (and other things) out of the garage. i've got to be able to set up the freezer for pirogi day and also be able to back the truck into the garage to clean out the attic there (there are tons and tons of construction waste up there!) that will allow us to see where any water goes, too.

Posted by gigamatt at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So we spent the evening over at the Pickles residence, eating cake, drinking coffee, and laughing. It was a nice little get-together to celebrate Kelmeister's birthday. Nothing fancy, just friends and cake.

Oh, and a game of "chase the black cat through the neighborhood in the dark because he's a sneaky bastard and snuck outside." That was fun.

But mostly, the cake and the company was good. It's nice when we can all hang out.

Worst part? This means 34 is only a week away. *sigh*

Posted by gigamatt at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

i can no longer visit half the websites i used to peruse from work. this is probably a good thing, but it means if you send me a link to flickr, youtube, facebook, or myspace, or a lot of toy news sites, i can't get there.

in theory, i'll get more work done.

whee. fewer distractions.

Posted by gigamatt at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

November 24, 2005 - Happy Thanksgiving!
Originally uploaded by naladahc

It's that time again... time to disappear for a few days into food coma.

To all of you from both of us, Happy Kill-and-eat-a-turkey Day!

Posted by gigamatt at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

things to do this week (and next):

a) cash check
b) buy groceries
c) renew plates
d) pay car insurance

yowza.

groceries needed for wednesday:
1) sour cream
2) orange juice
3) half and half
4) an orange or two
5) a lemon or two
6) celery
7) a fresh onion
8) sweet potatoes
9) apples
10) sugar
11) ground sausage
12) rolls
13) shredded lettuce
14) mayo

there will be more added to this list by the end of the day, i'm sure.

gotta check to see if i need foil pans or evaporated milk. gotta pull out the recipes tonight, too, to make sure that i did in fact get everything i needed.

Posted by gigamatt at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Turkey Day Guest List:

FabJ, MrT, and BabyT
Max Power
Jay (who needs no other name)
MMW and her sister (later)
Hawk's Mom and Chloe's Dad (later)
Major and Mr. Nelson (later)

Did I forget anybody? If I did, shoot me a comment. I think Nala invited at least one more. Like I keep saying, it's not like there won't be enough food. You all know I cant cook for less than 10.

KC, we will miss you this year!! Hope you're having a fabulous Thanksgiving in SF.

Posted by gigamatt at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

what is it with web stores deciding not to be web stores, or only having a select few products there? or worse yet, taunting you with only one category of items.

i'm trying to find the chair i saw in a store 2 weeks ago. i loved the chair. i want the chair. but goddamn them, they don't have the chair in -any- online store.

nobody's selling one on ebay either.

sheesh, i sound like nala and his shelf.

at least i know i can go find it again out in the real world if i have to.

striped armless ("slipper?") chair at (vcf? kittles? sofa express?) all i remember is it had gold and brown in amongst other colored stripes.

Posted by gigamatt at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

5 chilis. An easy win.

I ended up with an picture frame, which will end up going a) on eBay if they win a bowl game, or b) to my parents when I graduate. It was between that and another watch, but I didn't recognize the manufacturer's name, so I passed.

Posted by gigamatt at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have no tolerance for dumbass students.

I read the commentary on the Lantern article regarding the recent flooding in Taylor Tower, and wanted to smack every last comment author. You want to be considered adults, but yet you don't read the contracts. You need renters insurance, you dumbasses. And, the buildings aren't falling down, they just require maintenance, which they're getting. And as for bedbugs, READ UP, you morons.

Posted by gigamatt at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

i've developed a problem over time. i'm not sure of the complete nature, or where it stems from, but i have not only an ability to focus, but also no ability to make a decision.

i've blogged about the focusing problem before. and i know i have problems with over-analysis. nala's been helpful with that. and very patient.

sometimes i need to just "pick a direction, even if it's wrong."

this dining room thing is killing me. i like the color. i like our furniture. i know what light fixtures i don't like, but i'm having trouble reconciling my wanting to stay "period" with the house and my wanting to keep things modern and inviting.

the house is old. the furniture is antique. we still need a rug, a ceiling fixture, and window treatments. the problem with rejuvenation's selection is, if i limit by room=dining, by time period=1920s, and by type=chandelier, i feel like the 56-fixture selection is: ho-hum, too-square, or too-frilly. i feel like the soul of the house would be sucked out, rather than put back. if i switch to 1930s, it's even worse. of course, i know that another part is my inability to visualize different finishes and different glass shades on different styles.

another limiting factor is nala's desire to avoid up-lighting. that narrows the selection in half, at least. i agree with his reasoning, though, so that decision stands (unless he changes his mind).

Posted by gigamatt at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been collecting links to potential chandeliers in my delicious account, and last night I kidnapped Nala to hit the BB&B store to get some ideas for window treatments for the dining room.

The chandelier selection is proving to be more cumbersome than the window treatments, if only because there are SO MANY to choose from. I've only hit 1/3 of what's available on the Bellacor website. And that means, I haven't hit any from Great Indoors or Rejuvenation, or Northern Lighting. There is still much to be done.

Of course, finishing painting (and glob removal) in the dining room should be my first priority, followed by setting up the furniture to get a feel for what colors will actually work. We ruled out some of the gold panels as choices, and are thinking we might focus on something lighter, and possibly with gold IN it. (we found a beige and tan striped panel that seemed to work well, but I'm not 100% convinced.) What we did decide was that we'll use SIMPLE rods with either SIMPLE finials or no finials at all.

I think the bigger decisions (and ones that will influence the window treatments) are the chandelier and the rug. We simply must find a rug that works first, since that is a much bigger ticket item.

I've found a couple which work (online) but I refuse to buy something that large online, when it'll cost me extra shipping and I cant verify quality or true color before purchase, and return policies vary (Bellacor has great return policies, so I'd almost be ok ordering a light fixture from them... need to check BBB and Consumer Reports, I suppose... plus a lot of what they carry is available in stores).

Need to measure the area between the floor register and the cold air return to verify the dimensions, but I think the smallest we would want to go is 8x10. I believe 9x12 is also feasible, and 10x14 is maybe ok. We should also decide whether to go traditional, plain, modern, or something different.

Also, need to move some stuff around in the basement and label the stacks of boxes so that things can be found easier. That sounds like a good weekend morning task.

AND, I've got a friggin conference call tomorrow night with the alumni group. ACK.

Posted by gigamatt at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i went to the new polling place this morning, and of course, was going to have to vote provisionally. however, despite being first in line (and nobody else in line, either), the elderly gentleman moved less than slowly and i would've been late for work had i waited for him to get himself together.

we moved about a month ago, so no new address has been listed.

i went to work, and then decided to give voting at the old polling place a try. however, when i got there, it was closed. locked up. there was a sign telling voters from ONE precinct where to go, but not the other. so, i went to the wrong precinct's new polling place, and they told me i now needed to go another mile south and a few blocks west. campus.

screw that.

so, i drove back to the new polling place, and sat down with the elderly, flustered gentleman. i had interrupted his reading, and the other poll personnel had to shout at him despite my standing in front of him. i felt bad. i wanted so badly to help him, but knew this was his official job, so i waited while he opened the envelope with shaky hands.

seriously, that old guy needed a hug and to be told that he was appreciated.

i filled out the paperwork, and then he handed me my ballot. super simple, scantron ballot. 10 minutes of waiting for 30 seconds of circle-filling. and i woke an old man from his sleep.

and, he told me, i need to go to the board of elections and change my address. however, their website says i can do it anywhere, including at the polling places. hm. and i just filled out a form that had both old and new address. so, i'm thinking not, but i might still fill out a card next time i'm at the library, just in case.

all in all, it was a good day at the polls. AND, i got to vote on issues of elderly care and strippers! wow.

Posted by gigamatt at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)